Upholding the rights of local community members

As part of its commitment to respecting the rights of local communities, Nornickel identifies three key areas of focus: fostering a favourable social environment – through the management of positive social impacts and infrastructure projects; ensuring a favourable environmental context by reducing a negative environmental footprint; and a particular focus on engagement with indigenous communities.

Healthy social environment

For many years, Nornickel has prioritised creating conditions and opportunities for the residents of Norilsk, Monchegorsk, and other host areas.

Urban Environment Quality Index of the Russian Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Utilities is a tool for assessing the quality of the physical urban environment and the conditions for its development. The Index is assessed across 36 parameters, with an average score of 200 points for 2023 (out of a maximum of 360).

In 2023, the City Life Index developed by VEB.RF and its partners included 218 Russian cities, including Norilsk, Chita, and Murmansk, with assessments covering 11 focus areas and calculations made for more than 300 indicators.

The Company fosters dialogue with local communities, empowering residents to engage in decisions that impact their rights and interests. Through its ongoing support for urban development and entrepreneurship, the Company helps expand opportunities for selffulfilment and a better quality of life for residents.

The World of New Opportunities flagship charitable programme run by Nornickel since 2015 is the key tool to achieve this goalFor more details on the World of New Opportunities programme, please see the programme’s official website and the Company website as well as a dedicated article..

Activities of territorial development agencies

Local communities primarily engage in shaping the new appearance of their urban environments under Nornickel’s projects through urban development agencies, which are established and supported by the Company.

These agencies offer educational, informational, advisory, marketing, and other forms of support to local residents; they also contribute to infrastructure development, the creation of business activity centres, and act as a liaison between government authorities and local communities. They conduct large‑scale population surveys and use the results to define the key areas of focus in their work.

Healthy environment

To improve local environmental conditions across its footprint, the Company is implementing a holistic Environmental and Climate Change Strategy. The Strategy covers all key areas related to the environment: air and water protection, waste management, disturbed land rehabilitation, reforestation, and biodiversity conservation. To improve air quality in the Norilsk Industrial District and on the Kola Peninsula, the Company has been implementing the ambitious Sulphur ProjectFor more details, please see the Company website. since 2015, aiming to phase out sulphur dioxide emissions by its Kola and Norilsk enterprises.

By the end of 2021, all activities of the Sulphur Project at the Kola site had been completed, reducing emissions by more than 90% from a 2015 baseline. The project’s activities at the Norilsk site are still ongoing. The first SO2 capture and recovery facilities were launched at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant in 2023. In 2024, the Company succeeded in reducing emissions by 32% from a 2015 baseline, with the project still ongoing.

Air quality monitoring in Norilsk

In 2024, Nornickel created and launched an integrated air quality monitoring system for Norilsk residents. This is one of Russia’s first projects and the first project in the Arctic zone enabling real‑time assessment of urban air pollution levels.

To support the system’s operation, 16 environmental monitoring stations were installed in the Norilsk Industrial District to measure the air content of sulphur dioxide (SO₂), hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and dust, as well as temperature, pressure and humidity. Information on the concentrations of measured substances is updated every 20 minutes, enabling residents to plan their day and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities during unfavourable meteorological conditions.